Quick Takes: Blogger rant, those crazy kids at Planned Parenthood, and a sincere thanks to MSNBC

 

1) I've had it with Blogger. First, last year they deleted an entire post and all the comments. (Oops!) They did this to untold blogs, but I am one of the few who never got the post restored. Next, they changed my preferred comments format to one I really dislike, which messes me all up. Then, they made it almost impossible to see that there are comments after the first 200, meaning that anyone who is not subscribed to the comments, but simply comes back to the blog to check for new ones, will not see them (unless they see the little "Load more" link which even I missed for days!). People will assume the conversation just ended, when in fact it is ongoing! And now, there is something wrong with the proper application of Blogger fonts, and apparently people are seeing my posts in SCRIPT?? I would not put entire posts in script, people!

I need help! Anyone out there know how to seamlessly transfer this whole stinking Bubble, comments and all, to a new home base? For cheap? Email me if you have the solution to all my bloggy headaches!


2) Modern feminists are so sadly misguided. There are bedrock fundamentals that they simply do not understand, and two quotes say it all, in my opinion.

Reader/commenter extraordinaire LJP (Love, Justice, Peace, in that order) summed things up nicely:

 "Suppression of what is distinctly woman = oppression of women"

Think about that for a minute! Imagine if the feminists understood it. And, consider a quote I saw on facebook, attributed to one Marilyn Dickstein Kopp: 

Many feminists insist that abortion is necessary for women to participate freely and equally in society. Anyone who disagrees, they argue, has merely adopted patriarchal standards and accepted women’s ‘place’ in society. Yet this argument demonstrates how deeply the roots of sexism run in our culture. Its premise is a sexist one—that women are inferior to men and that in order to be equal, we have to change our biology to become like men—wombless and unpregnant at will. What other oppressed group in history has had to undergo surgery in order to be equal?

Indeed. Again, women on the left are forever at war with their own biology, their own feminine nature. Why do they disdain their own bodies so much? What is it like to fight one's own nature so vehemently? I'll never understand.

3) Which brings me to one of the best of many excellent commentaries about the now-infamous HHS contraception/sterilization/abortifacient mandate. It comes from Patrick Thornton of CatholicVote.org:

Women's Health = Not Having Babies

A fun sampling:

Women’s Health™ (yes, I’m going to keep writing it like that and in fact, every time you read it I want you to go “Ahhh” in your head in a kind of a sing-songy way like a chorus of angels would if the clouds had just parted and a powerful beam of sunlight was shining down upon the word) is different from regular health.

And it’s actually much more important.

We have been told repeatedly by our esteemed Commander in Health that it is so important that EVERY insurance program should cover it.  No matter what.

Not only should they cover it, but they should cover it WITHOUT a co-pay.

Because, you know, asking women to pay $20 for a prescription is evil and horrible and mean and most likely, (cringe) Republican.

These women are healthy. You can tell because they are not having babies.

Now, say your child has an ear infection or pneumonia, you can pay $20 for that because it’s not a Women’s Health™ issue, it’s just a plain-old, regular health issue.

If a young mother has a heart condition and needs medication, well she can pay $20 for that too because it is not a matter of Women’s Health™ (“Ahhh…”).  It’s just a matter of regular health.

If that same young mother wants to have sex without having a baby, well she damn well better not have to pay $20 for that!  Because as well know, that is a matter of Women’s Health™.

Read the rest, and find out what is not covered (surprise!!) under the umbrella of Women's Health™, here.

4) Those crazy kids at Planned Parenthood are at it again! If the late night comedians were not all abortion advocates, they would have endless fodder for their monologues. Here's a sampling from the past couple of days, just begging for some parody:

In the article, "Bill mandating abortion coverage in maternity insurance passes Washington State House" (yes, mandating abortion coverage is next), we hear the remarkable thoughts of local Planned Parenthood official Dana Laurent: 

“Just as no one anticipates breaking their leg, no one anticipates needing an abortion. It should be covered just as any other common medical procedure."

When I read that truly … um ... incredible statement, I crazily wondered on facebook why a woman engaged in the baby-making act wouldn't anticipate that babies might be made during that act? But All You Who Hope straightened me out: "You mean you've never gotten a high fever and cough and found out you needed an emergency abortion? Happens all the time." Yeah, I guess it does! Thanks, AYWH!

And for more Planned Parenthood humor (because with PP, you either have to laugh or cry), check out their tweet about Ohio college students having to choose between birth control and food. Yes, you read that right. If these poor Ohio students are not provided with free contraception, they risk malnutrition and starvation. You know, I sympathize. It was not so many years ago that I was in college, and I remember what it's like. I can envision a very sad scenario playing out right now at Ohio State:

‎"Hey, Orville, before we go back to the dorm so we can use each other for a quick hook-up (man, I haven't had sex since Thursday and I'm feeling weak), can you buy me some chicken wings? See, I can't actually afford food because no one will pay for my contraception -- hang on, I'm getting a call on my new iPhone; isn't it pretty? -- so, if you spring for dinner before sex, I can get at least one meal in today."

I know. It's tragic. These are brave young women, having to choose between sex and food. Thanks, Planned Parenthood, for championing their noble cause and introducing us to their unthinkable plight. Who wouldn't be willing to give up their religious liberties to ease these poor girls' burdens?

5) But in all seriousness, this ludicrous HHS mandate has helped to galvanize the faithful, bringing all stripes of Christians and non-Christians together. I was heartened to get this email from a dear Protestant friend:

Leila: I was just telling my sons last week that even though the pope is not the head of our church, he is in the ecumenical sense as he never backs down, Ever. And the day the Catholic Church backs down is the day we should all be very afraid. He always holds the line. Even if we do not agree with his line, he always holds it, and that fights evil and survives politics and changing mores. This current mandate for abortion will not even be the biggest fight; that is yet to come. But it is the pivotal one, for if we cannot agree that all created life has intrinsic value, how do you even get to the other issues? ...my two cents...

Yes, it's going to be a difficult battle, but we're amassing some wonderful allies. :)

6) As we take in the troubling absurdity of the past few weeks and think ahead, part of the battle is going to be supporting our priests as they (finally?) begin to educate their congregations. For several decades, Catholics in the pews have heard nary a peep from the pulpit about the issue of contraception. I am blessed to have two parish priests who do not shy away from the topic. If you crave a good homily on the subject, sit back and listen to my own Fr. Oliver Vietor's homily of two Sundays ago, here. For those inclined to shout "White male celibate!" right about now, keep in mind that Fr. Vietor, a former Episcopalian minister, has a wife and six children.

And if after that fortifying homily you desire a Scripture that seems particularly relevant for Catholics these days, pray over Matthew 10:16-39. You'll understand when you read it.

7) Finally, a huge thank you to MSNBC's Mika Brzezinski! Who'd have thought that we'd get this refreshing defense of Rick Santorum's personal stand on contraception from a host on that network? Check it out:

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with believing that [that contraception is wrong], I really don’t. I don’t think that means he’s going to ban birth control across the board. Those are his personal beliefs. And I think that as a father, and a man who’s held public office, he’s lived up to them, it appears. 

Which makes it interesting for the conversation, and it’s a conversation probably every family should have, about birth control and its role in society with their own kids. He’s got his own, and he stands by them, and I think he’s an interesting part of the national conversation in terms of where our society is going. 

And there is a lot of risky behavior out there that happens to be connected to birth control. So there’s a whole other side to this conversation.  And not once did I say should it be banned, or should it not be covered by health insurance. But I think it’s OK to have those beliefs or those concerns.

Can I just say WOW, and God bless Ms. Brzezinski! I mean, what she says is common sense, but it's heartening to see it on a liberal cable news network.

+++++++

Well, whew, that was kind of a long Quick Takes! Maybe I should have called them Slow Takes? 

Thanks to Jen (whom I miss, but I cannot wait for that book!), for hosting!

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